According to the magazine, the list is a “guide to the businesses that matter most, the ones whose innovations are having an impact across their industries and our culture.”

Both Narayana Hrudayala and RedBus are based in Bengaluru.

No points for guessing this one. Apple has been ranked as the most innovative company in the world. “iPads dominate the tablet market; Apple is winning in greater China; and new CEO Tim Cook is reportedly bringing a more humane leadership style. Until someone outplays Apple, it’s the starter,” Fast Company said.

This choice may get many ‘Likes’. Mark Zuckerberg-led social networking site ranks at No,2. But, there’s a flip side. “We assign Facebook a few demerits for its habit of overreaching into users’ privacy, apologizing, and then only slightly rolling back the offending policy,” Fast Company said

“Since returning to the big office last spring, CEO Larry Page has created an executive brain trust–and now they’re transforming Google from a single product into a diversified web power,” says Fast Company about the third-ranked Google.

Amazon grabbed the No.4 spot after “Kindle Fire grabbed the No. 2 tablet slot; the rapid expansion of Quidsi from diapers and drugstore goods to pet supplies, toys, and groceries; and the expansion of Amazon’s streaming-video service to include CBS and Fox programming”.

Square’s (No.5) tiny product is changing the way people do business. According to Fast Company, it is a “simple credit-card reader that looks like a business-card holder with a headphone jack. Plug it into an iPhone, though, and anyone could accept credit-card payments.”

@ 6 is mcroblg srvce Twtr! With more than 300 million users as of 2011, the online social networking service and microblogging service is generating more than 300 million ‘tweets’ per day.

The Occupy Movement has been ranked at No.7. The protest movement that spread across US and Europe is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. It began on September 17, 2011 – and still continues.

In China, Tencent dominates the internet messenger market. “It makes $1bn a quarter, much of it through virtual-goods sales, and is now the world’s third-largest publicly traded Internet company,” according to Fast Company.

California- based company, Life Technologies is ranked at No.9 on the list.

Fast Company’s view: “The $3.6bn company introduced 2,000 products since 2009 and has incentive to work fast: It expects the market for its biowares to hit $30bn by 2015.”

@ 10 is Solar City, based in California, USA. Fast Company’s view: “Rather than just make panels, it is a full-service operation – designing, installing, financing, and maintaining every system. That’s how to ease new customers into an unfamiliar technology.”